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The report addresses criticism of the case for war made by former Prime Minister Tony Blair

A look at the background to the Iraq Inquiry which was set up to look into the causes of Britain's involvement in the Iraq war, and led by former civil servant John Chilcot. Mark Kelly reports. Image: Getty

LONDON—A high-profile inquiry into the U.K.’s role in the Iraq war delivered a scathing account of Britain’s decision under then-Prime Minister Tony Blair to join the invasion, saying his government overstated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, hadn’t exhausted diplomatic options and devised “wholly inadequate” plans for dealing with the invasion’s aftermath.

The long-awaited findings, published in a roughly 6,000-page report Wednesday, also concluded that the legal basis for military intervention was “far from...